Tag Archives: waterloo

CUBANA WATERLOO  – RESTAURANT REVIEW    

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The amazing city of London, which we’re lucky enough to live in, is known for its celebration of cultures and Cubana celebrates culture like no other.

Just a stone’s throw from Waterloo station, Cubana is pretty tricky to miss when you pass it on the street due to its wall murals, brightly coloured outdoor seating area, authentic Cuban music blasting from its speakers and the traditional food stand out front (which you can purchase at insanely low prices). As soon as you head inside, you feel like you’ve been transported from London to Cuba, with Mother Mary statues and bold bright colours covering every single surface.

The highlight of Cubana, aside from its décor, has to be the food. Cubana does everything from main stand out dishes through to sharing tapas and individual bites and sweet, delectate desserts. You could definitely manage a few sides to go with your main and given the flavours are so good here, I’d definitely recommend it. The chorizo croquettes, lime covered chicken wings and yukka chips (a bizarre texture to grasp if you’re unfamiliar but incredibly tasty!) and the Pollo Criollo (free-range chicken, seared and casseroled in fresh orange, onions, garlic and sherry) was sweet and delicious. Definitely order yourself a side of their slaw too. It’s creamy, well-seasoned and goes with everything.

We ordered a few of our bits as starters and were getting a little nervous when we were waiting a while but it turns out everything was brought over as art of the main so definitely be really clear if you want your food staggered. In all honesty though, we really didn’t mind because it meant more of a feast to pick at!

The drinks menu is really reasonably priced and they do a two for one happy hour which even holds on a Saturday (quite difficult to find in the City!) which is from 4pm – 7pm and offers two for one on certain cocktail glasses and also jugs. A great bargain which we found drew the crowds in as soon as 4pm struck. If you fancy embracing the Cuban culture I’d recommend the strawberry and mango colada which genuinely just tastes like a smoothie (so drink responsibly!) but you also can’t go wrong with the jug of mojito to share. Absolutely packed with mint (and rum!) this is insanely refreshing and quite easily one of the best mojitos in town.

The venue is really open with high ceilings and is staggered across two floors which are split into three rooms. If you can, we suggest trying to get one of the podium tables. They’re both raised up and are really secluded so you have your own, sectioned off taste of Cubana (you’ll need to book these though because they only have two in the venue).

Don’t just consider Cabana as a daytime eatery though. We’re told the weekend evenings get LIVELY with live music and salsa dancers. Should you be heading down there soon, expect to see us back there!

You can book Cubana here: https://www.cubana.co.uk/

We were guests at Cubana restaurant and asked the owner to describe what’s good about the venue in his own words. He said: Cubana is London’s freshest, juiciest bar-restaurant, where you can enjoy authentic Cuban and Latin-American dishes, freshly-prepared with free-range produce, the very best Mojitos and fresh tropical cocktails and late night live Salsa – all at reasonable prices

Das Spiel: Are You Part of the Game?

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Das Spiel- Are You Part of the Game?Mind-reader, illusionist or trickster – no matter what you think of Philipp Oberlohr, he’ll certainly leave you mystified with his ability to master fate and delve into the depths of your soul.

Das Spiel: Are You Part of the Game? At The Vaults, Waterloo, doesn’t use the conventional theatrical props and it certainly appears as if there’s no script or set-direction.

It seems to flow naturally around the all-important members of the audience.

But then we question whether we’re all just pawns in Oberlohr’s game as the seemingly random participants are actually written into the stage-show as he reads a letter written earlier to name and thank those who played along.

We forget this is actually a theatrical experience as unassuming Austrian Oberlohr carries us, and we in turn carry him on this journey which blurs reality, the past and the present.

The players are different each night so the game you’ll be involved in will vary from mine, but I wanted to share some of the awe-inspiring and mind-boggling events that took place.

To kick off the show, Oberlohr drew a circle attached to the two sides of a triangle, followed by the words red, black, black.

He then took out a pack of cards with the numbers 1-100 and an audience member chose one. At that point we felt it would be a very long night as Oberlohr went round the room asking the audience to guess the number.

After the third attempt, Natalie shocked us all by guessing it was 32. And incidentally, she was wearing a necklace with a round pendant, a red dress and black shoes and tights – perfectly describing the pattern Oberlohr had penned earlier.

Then three blank pieces of paper were handed out and the holders had to draw one of the first things that came into their minds. As this was happening, Oberlohr’s eyes were taped and blindfolded before his hand hovered over the drawings. Incredibly he correctly guessed that two hearts with cupid’s arrow had been drawn, in addition to the rear view of an elephant. Magda was the next player.

He guessed the birth date of one player, the favourite city of another and even guessed the name of the person one audience member had shared her very first kiss with.

Oberlohr said he was inspired to create Das Spiel after reading The Magus by John Fowles. “I related to the protagonist as the reality that was created around him kept changing and transforming. This theme inspired me to create an experience like this for an audience in a live setting”.

In the same way, we’re changed and transformed from that point onwards – this is certainly unlike anything I’ve seen or been involved in before.

And just a note about The Vaults venue – it’s a myriad of darkened rooms and tunnels under the arches supporting the train network above – a funky hideout for the urban classes.

 

 

 

Laugh-out-loud Chekhov – Two for the Price of One

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Backpocket Productions and Scrawny Cat Theatre Company present The Bear and The Proposal by Anton Chekhov, Studio 180, 23 and 24 February 2012

On arrival at this intriguing venue in Waterloo, guests were given a ticket either with or without a white square.  This determined the order in which one experienced the plays, as both were performed twice in the evening, with the audience switching at the interval.  I started with The Bear, which I had not seen or read before.  It turned out to be a very entertaining piece of theatre with the laughs coming thick and fast.  The antagonism and admiration between Popova and Smirnoff was very well played, but for me the most interesting relationship was that between Popova and Luka, which was captivating from the outset.  Rae Brogan (Popova) ran the gamut of emotions, and was particularly effective (and amusing) as the grieving widow at the start of the play.  The irrepressible Avena Mansergh-Wallace (Luka) gave a remarkably physical comedic performance, and I especially liked her despair at the prospective duel.  Noah James (Smirnov) was a suitably angry and commanding Bear.  Well directed by Marisa Freyer, the piece was balanced and well-constructed, and ended on a high note.

After the interval, I moved upstairs for The Proposal, a play with which I am familiar.  I was eager to see the company’s take on this classic comedy.  It was hilarious.  Ryan Wichert (Lomov) was already in position, in dress shirt and tails, nervously waiting to pop the question.  Ryan used his physicality to great effect throughout the show to convey both anxiety and irritation, captivating the audience with voice, twitches and tics, and clever use of a small metal snuff box.  Marie Rabe was humorous and engaging as the lively Natalya, who wants to get married but can’t resist a good argument.  The character written as Stephan, Natalya’s father, was changed to Stephania, her mother, a directorial decision of which I highly approved.  Silvana Maimone proved herself a strong, versatile actor in this role transforming from stately to short-fused with ease.  All three of the actors gave engrossing performances, ably directed by Charlotte Ive, and my only complaint is that it seemed to be over too quickly!

This run of The Proposal and The Bear has finished, but for more information about the companies visit scrawnycat.co.uk.